Requirements for licensed and registered providers*

Each person responsible for developing, directing and supervising the daily activities and programs for children and each employee must complete a minimum of thirty (30) hours of training every two years, with a minimum of 5 hours completed each year.

Fifteen (15) hours of such training must be completed during the first six months of service.

Required Training Topics 

  1. principles of childhood development, including the appropriate supervision of children, meeting the needs of children enrolled in the program with physical or emotional challenges and behavior management and discipline
  2. nutrition and health needs of children
  3. program development
  4. safety and security procedures, including communication with parents
  5. business record maintenance and management
  6. child abuse and maltreatment identification and prevention
  7. statutes and regulations pertaining to child care
  8. statutes and regulations pertaining to child abuse and maltreatment
  9. identification and prevention of shaken baby syndrome (NOT required for staff of School-Age Child Care Programs)
  10. adverse childhood experiences, focused on understanding trauma and on nurturing resiliency

* Requirements are for staff in regulated child care centers, school age child care, group family child care and family child care. Head Start and Universal PreK have additional requirements.

Foundations in Health and Safety e-learning

Go to Foundations in Health and Safety e-learning

All Licensed and Reregistered childcare providers and all enrolled Legally Exempt providers must take Foundations in Health and Safety e-learning. Foundations in Health and Safety is available as a 5 hour long online course. There is no charge to take the online course.

For Licensed and Registered Programs:
  • All providers, assistants, substitutes in Family Day Care(FDC), Group Family Day Care(GFDC) and Small Day Care Centers
  • All directors, teachers, assistant teachers, substitute teachers and substitute assistant teachers in Day Care Centers (DCC) and School Age Child Care programs (SACC)
  • Volunteers in all programs, who have the potential for regular and substantial contact with children at a care program

Must complete Foundations in Health and Safety within the first 3 months of employment.

Individuals who completed 15 hour Health and Safety classroom training after August 1, 2016 do not need to take the e-learning course.

For Legally Exempt child care providers:

Legally-exempt group, family and in-home providers, caregivers, employees, and volunteers with the potential for regular and substantial contact with children are required to complete Foundations in Health and Safety e-learning.
The training must be completed before enrollment.
The only exception to this is that a grandparent, great-grandparent, sibling (if living in a separate residence), aunt or uncle who provides care for ONLY a child(ren) related to them will not be required to complete this requirement.

To start the training and receive the certificate of completion, each individual must create an Early Childhood Education and Training Program (ECETP) account with the Professional Development Program (PDP). Accounts can be set up in minutes and require only a little information. The account can be set up at: https://www.ecetp.pdp.albany.edu/mytraining/login.aspx. All individuals who complete the Foundations in Health and Safety e-learning session will be credited with a certificate of completion. Certificates are awarded at the end of the session and must be printed and kept on file at the child care program. If a certificate is misplaced, another can be printed from the website.

Finding a Training or Education Program

View our Training Calendar

The Child Development Council offers workshops and sponsors the SUNY video conferences for child care providers of all modalities and experience. Our workshops are developed to meet the training subject requirements of NYS regulations. We build our workshops from suggestions of providers and to relay the most recent research and practical application in order to help providers care for children in optimal environments. Our providers also experience a feeling of support as they share information and techniques. Dates, topics, times and registration for workshops are listed on the training calendar.

Information regarding the SUNY Webcasts (formerly SUNY videoconference) topics can be found at www.ecetp.pdp.albany.edu.

Free Online OCFS Training

Visit the ECETP e-Learning Course Catalog at: http://ecetp.pdp.albany.edu/elearn.shtm
Funding for this site is sponsored by the New York State Office of Children and Family Services, funded by the Federal Child Care and Development Fund and administered by the Professional Development Program, Rockefeller College, University at Albany. These trainings are available for all child care providers in New York State at no cost to participants.

OTHER ONLINE TRAINING must be reviewed and approved. https://www.ecetp.pdp.albany.edu/distance.aspx
Non-credit bearing distance learning courses are reviewed using OCFS criteria to ensure they meet the New York State training requirements. Only reviewed and approved courses count towards regulatory training requirements.